The ever-changing U Street corridor is likely to receive another housing project - this time courtesy of the Public Welfare Foundation (PWF) and the Metamorphosis Development Group (MDG). The development team is planning on constructing 10 new, affordable houses on Temperance Court, NW - an alley between 13th and 12th Streets containing a surprisingly large (13,000 s.f.) vacant lot just steps from U Street and next to the Metro station.
Designed by Amy Gardner of Gardner Mohr Architects LLC, the single-family town homes envisioned for the site will be available to those making less than 60% of the Area Median Income and will include a mix of one and two bedroom floorplans.
Given Temperance Court's designation as a historically protected site, the development team has filed paperwork with Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and expects notes on their plan in December. They’ll also be meeting with the local ANC board next week - the commissioner of which, coincidentally, lives adjacent to the alley. If everything goes according to plan, Metamorphosis expects to
file for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) in December of next year, and to begin construction in late 2010.The Temperance Court development marks the PWF’s first foray into affordable housing. According to their website, they typically provide grants for “scholarships and occupational training, medical equipment, [and] clinics.” But, according to Christopher Donald, Managing Partner of MDG, the project isn’t entirely out of their purview. “The project is kind of an anomaly, but because of the historic nature of the project, they wanted to return it to its former use to serve some of the same families that they would serve in other ways,” he said.
It should also be noted the PWF is headquartered at 1200 U Street, NW (AKA the “True Reformer Building”), a stone’s throw from Temperance Court. Not a bad commute to the job site.
Washington DC real estate development news
